subway dreams
by flowersandswords
Summary: Sasuke sees Sakura for the first time in the middle of Tokyo's bustling subway station and he'll never be able to forget her after.
1. part one

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Sasuke sees her for the first time in the middle of spring.

It's six thirty in the morning, the first day back from the spring holiday and he's on his usual route to school. His school uniform is ironed to perfection, not a wrinkle in sight and his bag is slung across his shoulder.

The cherry blossoms are in bloom this time of year, the sweet smell carries with the breeze, it surrounds him, follows him until he's swiping his metro card and entering the Kichijoji Station.

Business men in charcoal suits and women in pencil skirts carry briefcases, walking shoulder to shoulder, bumping and elbowing their way to get on their usual train, eager to start their work day.

Sasuke waits on the platform for his train, absently staring off onto the other side of the station.

And then he sees her.

She's standing still, peering down at a map and her hair is _pink_.

He can't take his eyes off of her. Maybe it's the pinkness of her hair and how it reminds him of the blooming cherry blossoms, or maybe it's the fact that she's wearing his school's uniform and he's never seen her before.

He's still staring at her, tilting his head curiously to look at her face when the platform shakes softly under their feet.

The speed of the incoming train creates a breeze, forceful and warm, that blows against the girl's hair. Long strands of pink wisp around in the air and the bottom of her skirt flips up slightly, exposing her milky thighs.

She drops the map, it floats away with the breeze and she immediately presses her skirt down, tugging at the hem to hide the softness of her skin.

She looks up finally, a heated blush explodes across her cheeks like fireworks in a summer festival.

And all he can see is green.

Her eyes are green like emeralds and even though she's across the platform, he can see them clearly.

She's staring back at him now, blinking through dark eyelashes and furrowing her brows in confusion.

Before he can muster up the sense to look away from her, the train glides shakily in-between where the platform splits and she's gone.

The muffled sound of the transit announcer echoes loudly, bouncing off the station's walls. The train's heavy doors slide open and then time starts up again.

The click of heels and the chatter of the passengers flood the station. People are moving in and out of the train, some move slow, walking with ease and others pound their feet on the ground, cursing at the time on their watches.

He's tilting his head this way and that way, searching for the pink haired girl without even realizing it. There's too many people now, too many faces and too many voices and as much as he looks for her, she's gone, blending into the rest of the moving masses.

He steps into the train swiftly, beating the closing doors and grabs hold of the hanging handles, balancing himself when he notices that there are no empty seats.

He reaches into the front pocket of his backpack and pulls out his phone, along with a pair of black earbuds, ones he's had for years. He puts them in his ears and waits for the soft sound of music to pour through the speakers.

The route to school takes around twenty minutes, there's about three different stops before his but he doesn't really mind, not now anyway because all he can think about is the girl's blushing cheeks and milky thighs.

* * *

Streaks of light flood through the tiny windows and as the sun rises, the sky is that mixture of faded orange and blue and pink.

 _Pink._

The sky is streaked light pink like that girl's hair and it's just as captivating.

He wonders for a minute if he's imagined her, if maybe she wasn't there at all because no one he's ever seen has had pink hair and eyes _that_ green.

The train stops abruptly, he sways a little but stays balanced as he grips onto the hanging handle.

Two more stops to go.

The shakiness starts up again and he's on the move once more, the trees and buildings outside bleed into each other as the speed of the train increases.

The pink haired girl had been wearing his school uniform, a black pleated skirt that rested just above her knees, a white blouse with a sailor collar and red ribbon tied to the front.

He wonders if she's a transfer student and suddenly remembers that she'd been looking down rather intensely at a map of some sort right before the train came. Was she from outside of Tokyo?

His knuckles turn white as he grips onto the hanging handle and the train comes to another harsh stop.

A large group of passengers get up from their seats and wait for the heavy doors to open once more. They slide open and the noises of the subway become louder than the music in his ears. There is the sound of shuffling feet and the sounds of quiet conversation when he sees her for the second time.

She's been there the whole time, slumped into the blue seats of the subway car. Her limbs look heavy and her head tilts lazily to the right, her pink hair rests limp across her cheek.

Her lips like rose petals part slightly and she's breathing softly, steadily. Her green eyes are closed but he can see that they're moving slowly underneath her lids.

In the midst of the crowded subway car, she's there, fast asleep and dreaming.

 _tbc_

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a/n: i'm thinking of making this into a short story, my goal is to have each chapter be under 1000 words, not including the a/n.

reviews are appreciated!


	2. part two

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Sasuke never really understood what it meant when people said that they could feel their hearts in their throats, never really understood how such a feeling of surprise and relief and hope could be there, caught in his chest, pooling into the pit of his stomach.

But he feels it now, feels his heart in his throat as he stares at this sleeping girl.

Strands of pink hair keep falling across her peaceful face and he wonders how anyone can sleep so soundly on such a loud, shaky train.

The heavy sliding doors suddenly close as the last person steps off and again, the train is moving.

One more stop to go, _his_ stop and probably hers too.

Behind her, the sun is rising higher and higher into the blue sky, creating a halo of white light above her head, streaking down onto her pale face.

The streak of the light hits the top of her cheekbone, drawing his attention to the structure of her features.

Her nose is soft and straight, curving at the tip.

Her lips are full, the bottom slightly more plump than the top and they are smooth like rose petals.

He wonders why he can't take his eyes off of her, why is she so alluring?

Sasuke is never fixated with any one person or thing, he isn't bothered by trivial things like girls with pink hair and soft, milky thighs.

But this girl, this girl who is naive enough to sleep on the subway, sparks his attention and he's suddenly he's on fire.

He's still staring at her when the train comes to another harsh stop. He tightens his grip around the hanging handle and sways with the train's halting motion.

The sudden stop jerks the sleeping girl forward, her green eyes flutter open, a quiet gasp pushes past her lips in surprise.

And she's staring back at him.

He can hear the sliding doors open with a gust of spring air, the sweet smell of cherry blossoms surround him and he's not sure if it's the breeze or the girl in front of him.

She's staring back at him with perplexed eyes, watching him like he's been watching her, curiously and carefully.

There are roses, red and warm, blooming across her cheeks.

Sasuke wants to reach his hand out, brush his fingers against her heated flesh and it's so _unlike_ him, so different from the apathetic persona he's created for others to see.

He lets go of his tight grip on the hanging handle and before he can move his fingers, she's looking away, grabbing her backpack, slinging it over her slim shoulders and running out of the train. It happens so fast, she comes and goes like the spring breeze. One minutes she's here and the next she's gone, almost like she was never there at all.

Sasuke feels his heart fall from his throat and crash into the pit of his stomach.

How can a strange pink haired girl make him feel this way?

He sighs deeply, with his whole body and runs his fingers through his dark hair.

The sliding doors start to close but he's faster. In one, two, three steps he's out of the subway car and into the outside station.

He half expects to see the girl outside and he doesn't want to admit that he feels a wave of disappointment wash over him when she's nowhere in sight.

She's gone but he can still see her, the soft curves of her feminine physique and the way her eyes moved slowly under her lids as she slept.

Faintly, he can hear his school's morning bell ringing, it carries with the wind, wrapped in the scent of cherry blossoms.

So he walks to school, hands shoved in his pockets, attempting to forget the girl who sleeps and dreams on the subway.

* * *

Sasuke is the first one in the classroom, the sun shines through windows, illuminating the sheer curtains and silence hangs in the air.

His seat is closest to the windows, in the far back of the classroom.

He takes his seat, like he does every morning and rests his backpack on the side of his desk.

The classroom door shakes a little and suddenly slides open, "Sasuke!" A rumbling voice slices through the silence. It is a voice filled with electricity, familiar and obnoxious.

Uzumaki Naruto.

There is the sound of stomping and the warmth of his blonde best friend's hand is heavy on his shoulder, "Early as always, you eager bastard."

There is no venom in his words, just friendly teasing and even if Sasuke won't admit it, there's something oddly comforting about it.

Naruto stumbles into the desk next to Sasuke, waving and greeting their classmates as they enter the classroom. It's not long before the class is full of students, the air echoes with their conversation, loud voices and laughter surround him.

The heavy steps of their homeroom teacher, Mr. Hasegawa, interrupt the conversation. He is husky man, with a rounding belly and short dark brown hair.

He slides open the classroom door, holding a stack of folders against his chest, "Take your seats everyone. We've got a new student joining our class today."

Chairs are scraping loudly against the floors and the sound of conversation fades away.

Mr. Hasegawa walks to his desk but Sasuke barely notices him. All he can see is the new student, she is small, looking down at her feet nervously.

And her hair is _pink_.

She turns and faces the class, tugging at the end of her skirt.

"Introduce yourself." Mr. Hasegawa says.

She tucks her long, soft pink hair behind her ear and gives a polite smile, "Hello everyone, my name is Haruno Sakura. I'm happy to join your class."

She bows then, low and respectful and when she looks up, their eyes meet.

There is shock etched in every feature of her face and Sasuke's heart is caught in his throat again.

 _tbc_

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a/n: thank you guys for the positive feedback on the first chapter! as always, reviews are appreciated!


	3. part three

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The moment she looks up at him, the softness of her face sharpens and confusion dilates in the darkness of her pupils.

She's still there, at the front of the class, tugging nervously at the end of her skirt, staring at him with those wide green eyes.

Sasuke's staring back at her, holding his breath until his chest hurts.

"Take a seat next to Hinata." Mr. Hasegawa suddenly says, gesturing to the empty desk next to a smiling dark haired girl.

Sakura tears her eyes away from Sasuke, giving a quick nod to their teacher and taking the seat next to Hinata.

He sees her politely greet the dark haired girl, a small smile on her lips and again, he can't look away from her.

Naruto nudges Sasuke with his elbow and leans in to whisper, "New girl's pretty cute, huh?" There is a wide smile on his face, his blue eyes light up like the morning sky and he's watching her like she's the sun, "I think I'm in love."

But Sasuke isn't listening.

His heart's thumping erratically against his ribs, it's so loud and so fast, he can hear it pumping in his ears.

It's something that's never happened to him before, a feeling of uneasiness courses through him and he wonders if it will always be like this when the pink haired girl is near him.

She's three desks away from him and he can see her from the corner of his eye.

Her long pink hair catches the sunlight as she moves, each strand softly shines and suddenly, faster than the beating of his heart, she's peering at him over her shoulder.

The corner of her rosy mouth twitches a bit and he's sees something like a smile on her lips.

 _One, two, three, four_...he counts the seconds they stare at each other.

Sasuke feels like he's in a trance, feels like the world has stopped turning and it's all because of her.

"Dude," Naruto whispers, nudging his friend's shoulder once more, "She's looking at me." He's smiling at her, lifting his hand to wave when she turns back toward Hinata.

Naruto laughs, low and embarrassed, scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "Guess she's the shy type."

Sasuke doesn't offer a response, can't find the right words to say because he _knows_ she had been staring at him. With a deep sigh, he rests his head on his desk, buries his face in the crook of his elbow and all he can see is shiny pink hair and narrowing green eyes.

That warm feeling pools into his stomach again and it's so _annoying._

* * *

Sasuke tries avoiding her for the rest of the day.

He can't though, because she's everywhere now. In his class, in the halls, stuck in the back of his conscious.

When the last bell chimes, he bolts up from his desk, backpack in hand and rushes out of the classroom. He doesn't look back, not even when the low timbre of Naruto's voice carries his name through the halls.

He's at the front gates before he can even realize it, the air is warm and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms linger in the breeze. A chorus of laughter erupts from behind him and once he turns around, he wishes he hadn't.

She's there, walking in between Yamanaka Ino and Hyuga Hinata, a smile curves on her lips as they touch the softness of her hair, utter fascination on their faces.

She tilts her head in his direction then, meeting his eyes for the millionth time and instead of holding her gaze like he's done before, he shoves his hands in his pockets and walks away.

Sasuke needs to get himself together, needs to snap out of whatever daze he's in because _this_ is not really him at all.

* * *

The sun starts to sink into the horizon as he swipes his metro pass and enters into the subway station. It's busy as always, bustling with all sorts of people, the sounds of their muffled voices and heavy footsteps ring through the air.

Someone knocks into him, bumping his shoulder roughly as he waits on the platform. He stumbles a bit, grabs his shoulder with a scowl on his face. Sasuke hates crowded places, hates feeling so suffocated and cornered into a small place. He prefers solitude and the silence it brings.

The platform suddenly shakes under his feet and the train arrives, a swift breeze comes with it, blowing through his dark hair.

The heavy doors slide open and within seconds, people are pushing their way through, eager to get a seat. Sasuke's about to step on the train when someone else knocks against his shoulder, a sharp pain spreads throughout, more intense than the accidental bumping before.

"Ow," A light, feminine voice says suddenly, "I'm sorry."

He turns around at the sound of the voice and all he sees is pink.

It's her.

 _Of course it is._

The palm of her hand rests on her forehead and her face is contorted uncomfortably in pain, "The lady behind me shoved me forward and I hit my head on your…"

She looks up at him and her eyes widen in surprise, "Oh...it's you."

Sasuke doesn't say anything. He's too stunned to muster up a single syllable.

Her hand falls from her forehead, a red splotch marks her pale skin, "I keep seeing you everywhere."

He should say something, he knows that but it's like the words are caught on his tongue and before he can string a sentence together, she's parting her lips to speak again, "If we're going to keep running into each other like this, we might as well be friends, don't you think?"

A nervous blush spreads hotly across her cheeks and that horrible warm feeling floods into his stomach.

The subway doors are closing, so without thinking, he quickly nods and the moment he does it, she smiles.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"Not really." He replies quietly, almost like a whisper.

She laughs then, eyes crinkling at the corners and even if he won't admit it, he sort of likes the way it sounds.

"Uchiha Sasuke," His name falls from her lips like leaves in autumn, "That's your name, right?"

He nods slowly, watching her rosy lips curl into a smile.

"I'm Sakura." she says, gazing at him with those green, _green_ eyes.

But he already knows that.

 _Sa-ku-ra._

The name is stained in his mind, each syllable is caught in his throat and he'll never forget it.

 _tbc._

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a/n: this came out to be a little bit over 1000 words but oh well. thanks again for all the positive feedback, you're all very kind! as always, reviews are appreciated!


	4. part four

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Sasuke wakes to the hollow pitter patter of rain.

His limbs are tangled in the softness of his sheets and sleep is still heavy on his eyelids. He tilts his head towards his window, notices that the sky is caught between black and deep blue, that it won't be long before the orange glow of the sun rises above the horizon.

It's the first time in a long time that he's woken up before the shrill ringing of his alarm, but he can't help it, not when his dreams and thoughts are filled with nothing but Haruno Sakura.

They had sat in silence the rest of the train ride home, catching each other's eyes every couple of minutes and then looking away awkwardly. The moment the train had come to his stop, he practically sprinted off, pushing past people to get out, to get away from Sakura and her warm smiles.

He stares up at his white ceiling now, dreading and anticipating the moment his alarm goes off, the moment he gets on the train and sees her.

* * *

Sasuke is waiting on the platform for his train, dark eyes wandering the entire subway station when he sees Haruno Sakura.

She's across the platform, watching him and smiling slightly, running her fingers through her long pink hair.

Looking at her sends shivers down his spine, makes his knees feel weak and the corners of his lips are twitching like he wants to smile back at her.

But it's Sasuke, and he never really smiles.

So he just stands there, tries to tear his gaze away from hers but it's like her eyes are magnets and there's a force drawing him to her.

* * *

Sasuke finds a seat towards the back of the train, far away from the bustle of incoming passengers and far, far away from Haruno Sakura.

As the train starts up again, he shuffles through his school bag, finds his earbuds and listens to his music on the highest volume.

The music is so loud that the bass pulses through his body, he can feel it in his fingers and toes. Sasuke figures that the music will fill his mind, fill his thoughts and push Sakura out of his head. And it does.

But only for a second.

He feels a soft tapping on his shoulder, a gentle pressure that seemed to dig into his skin and he can only imagine that it's her.

He expects to turn his head and see the soft features of her pretty face. In fact, he almost hopes for it, even if he won't admit it to himself.

But to his surprise, he turns his head and meets the kind brown eyes of a middle aged woman.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" The woman asks in a quiet voice, gesturing to the seat next to him.

And all he can do is shake his head in response.

He feels the disappointment sink into his chest, he feels it in his fingers and toes.

* * *

When Sasuke steps off the train, the stale smell of the rain hangs in the air, surrounding him.

He watches as the sky sheds it's droplets, lightly drizzling onto the pavement and the sight makes him remember that he forgot an umbrella.

He curses at himself internally, shoving his fists into his pockets as he begins to walk in the direction of school.

He can feel the soft pressure of the rain drops drizzling onto him, he can hear the slow, steady sound of the rain falling through the air,

 _Drip, drip, drip…_

"You forgot your umbrella too, huh?"

And the sound of Sakura's voice slices through the wind, through the sound of the rain. It courses through him like a shock wave and he suddenly can't move. She steps beside him now, her green eyes wandering his dampened school uniform.

Sasuke doesn't say anything, just shakes his head in response and this makes the corners of her lips twitch into a slight smile, "You mind if I walk with you?"

And he did mind.

She was already a constant in his head, in his thoughts and as much as he tried, he couldn't get her out. He wanted more than anything to walk to school alone, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders at her question. He pretended that he didn't care, that her presence didn't make him a little insane.

So they walked and all Sasuke could do was stare down at his feet.

Left foot.

Right foot.

Over and over.

"Have you lived in Tokyo your whole life?" Sakura asks him and he can feel the pressure of her gaze on his skin.

"Yes."

"Do you like living here?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning on going to college here?"

Sasuke tilts his head in her direction, meeting her eyes for the first time, "Do you always talk this much?"

"Yes." And she laughs.

The corners of her eyes crinkle as she laughs, and he doesn't want to admit it but the sound of it makes him dizzy.

"You could try talking too, you know?" She says with a teasing smile, "You could ask me a question or something."

Sasuke smirks softly, amused by her taunting expression, "Alright," He says, "Where did you move here from?"

"Yakumo." She answers softly and the tone of her voice changes, "It's a nice town, near the ocean." There is a longingness in her voice.

"You miss it?" Sasuke asks curiously.

She nods slowly, almost sadly, "Yeah, I do."

And then she talks of her home town.

The sound of Sakura's voice becomes muffled and distant as he dives into his own thoughts. He doesn't want to hear her voice, doesn't want to memorize the way her lips wrapped around each word or the watch the way she moves her hands as she talks.

Sakura talks for a long time, she talks the entire walk to school and it isn't until they reach the entrance that she stops.

She inhales deeply and sighs loudly, "Truth is, I moved here with my mom because my dad had an affair."

Sasuke raises his thick brows at her sudden confession and Sakura's eyes widen, her pale hand clasps over her mouth in seconds.

"I don't know why I said that," She turns her head away from Sasuke's sight but it doesn't matter, he can already see the hot blush that's spreading across her pale skin.

He shrugs his shoulders, "Don't worry about it."

Sakura whips her head around at his response, her green eyes bore into the darkness of his eyes and he can see the pink blush of her embarrassment on her cheeks.

"You're the only person I've actually told about the affair," She shakes her head in disbelief, "I was too embarrassed to tell my friends back home."

The rain is still drizzling and he watches as the droplets fall on her pink hair, on her skin.

And there it is again, that warm feeling plummets into his stomach. It explodes through his body and he wants to touch her, to reach out and hold her.

He feels his body inch forward and before he can even raise his hand, the morning school bell rings.

"Oh," Sakura gasps, "We're gonna be late." She pushes her hair behind her ear and shifts her weight on each of her feet, like she's nervous, "Can we...Well would it be alright if I walk with you from now on? Like before...and after school?"

He should say no.

He should cut her off before he actually does go insane.

But he can't.

"Yeah. That's alright."

 _tbc._

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a/n: it's been awhile since i've updated this story because life has been crazy. i'm going to try to update sooner now that it's summer break. thanks for all the support and as always reviews are appreciated!


	5. part five

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The morning classes pass by slowly.

Sasuke's dark eyes become glued to the clock above the chalkboard, the distant sound of it's ticking agonizes him to the point of utter despair. He scribbles into the margins of his neat notes and waits until the lunch bell rings, granting his freedom.

The sound of their math teacher's voice starts to quiet as the lesson comes to an end and he claps his hands loudly to get the class's full attention.

"Alright everyone, before we go to lunch, pass up last night's homework."

Sasuke reluctantly tears his gaze from the clock and begins to shuffle through his organized binder, thumbing his way through his carefully placed papers.

Suddenly, he feels the pressure of persistent fingers poking at his shoulder, he turns slightly in his chair, already expecting to meet the eyes of his best friend, "I'm not giving you the homework, you lazy bastard."

Naruto's electric blue eyes beam, a wide smile curves onto his lips as he speaks, "Hey! I actually did it this time," He shuffles through his backpack, grabbing a crumpled sheet of paper, holding it up to Sasuke's face, "See?"

Sasuke's dark eyes flicker from the crumpled paper to Naruto's smiling face and with an annoyed sigh says,"That's last week's homework."

Naruto's nose scrunches in confusion, "Huh?" He stares down at the paper and his eyes widen, "Oh fuck."

Sasuke scoffs softly, a teasing smirk grips at the corner of his mouth and he turns forward in his seat to pass up his assignment.

"Wait, Sasuke," Naruto says, leaning forward over his desk, "I wanted to ask you something."

Sasuke doesn't turn around, he merely grunts lazily in response, focusing his attention on the scribbles in his notebook.

"Do you think it's too early to ask Sakura out?"

 _Sakura._

Sasuke doesn't say anything for a few seconds, her name seems to weigh down his tongue and he can feel the burn of Naruto's expectant gaze.

It wasn't as if he'd forgotten Sakura, he couldn't even if he tried but for the first time in the last couple hours, she wasn't on his mind.

Until now, that is.

Sasuke watches the way Naruto's lips wrapped around each syllable of her name, watches the way his blue eyes ignite with excitement when he talks about her.

"I mean, she's only been here a couple of days and even Kiba's already talkin' about her," Naruto starts to scratch the back of his neck, something he always does when he starts to ramble on, "And I don't want anyone else to ask her out before I do, ya know?"

A flood of envy runs through Sasuke's body and it settles uncomfortably in his chest, "You barely know her."

"Well, I'll get to know her," Naruto says confidently, "Ino's already hanging out with her, so I'm sure I'll be seeing her a lot."

Sasuke's whole body slumps in defeat, realizing that Naruto never takes no for an answer anyway, "Whatever." The tone of his voice lowers and becomes harsh, "Do what you want."

Naruto scrunches his thick brows in confusion, "What's with the attitude?" His blue eyes narrow slightly, curiosity flashes like lightning across his face, "Do...you like her too or something?"

 _No...Maybe...I don't know._

Sasuke doesn't know what to say, doesn't even really know how to feel about Haruno Sakura and her pretty smile. So he doesn't say anything, he just looks down at his shoes and before Naruto can open his mouth again, the bell rings.

The shrill sound of the bell sets the class into a frenzy, the sound of chairs screeching and girls giggling echo across the air, breaking through Sasuke's silence.

Naruto clears his throat awkwardly after a few seconds and claps his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "C'mon, let's go get lunch before the line gets too long."

Sasuke breathes out slightly, nodding in agreement.

* * *

They don't talk much on their way to lunch, an awkward silence hangs in the air and an uneasiness settles into Sasuke's stomach.

He shoves his fists into his pockets, his dark eyes glance over at Naruto's blank face and he knows he should say something to dissipate the silence between them.

The words he wants to say are caught in his throat, choking him and he hates how hard it is to explain himself.

"Naruto," He begins quietly, almost like a child, "About earlier…"

Naruto's big blue eyes dart up, his thick eyebrows raise slightly, curiosity flashes across his bright face as he waits for Sasuke to continue.

Sasuke's lips part as he begins to speak and just before the words can escape, a familiar feminine voice calls out to them, echoing loudly across the cafeteria, "Sasuke! Naruto!"

Both of the boys turn their heads into the direction of the voice, their eyes searching back and forth through the crowd of their classmates.

And just like all the times before, Sasuke sees her.

She's walking beside Ino, their arms are linked tightly together and it looks as if they've been friends for years. He watches as the sunlight streams through the cafeteria window and bounces across the strands of Sakura's long pink hair.

"I told you dorks to wait for me by the bathrooms!" Ino's shrill voice rings through their ears, her grip around Sakura's arm tightens affectionately, "Sakura's gonna be eating with us from now on, got it?"

Naruto nods excitedly, the corners of his mouth pull into a friendly smile once he sets his eyes on Sakura. He sticks out his arm and grabs her hand, shaking it eagerly, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura smiles brightly, shaking his hand back, "Yeah, Ino told me already." She laughs sweetly, the sound carries through the air and Sasuke feels that warm feeling drip into his stomach all over again. Naruto chuckles shyly, his blue eyes never leave her face, even when she politely pulls her hand out of his grasp.

Sakura's green eyes flicker over to meet Sasuke's gaze, a twinge of a shy smile tugs at the corner of her petal lips, "Hello, Sasuke. It's nice to see you again."

And her voice is like honey, melting across his tongue, he wants to taste her voice and swallow her words whole. Sasuke gives a curt nod in response, his pale face remains blank as he tries his best to conceal the excitement that's bursting through his body.

Naruto tears his gaze from Sakura's smiling face, his electric blue eyes burn like fire into Sasuke's skin, "You two...know each other already?"

"Sorta," Sakura says, "We take the same subway to school."

"Oh, Sasuke, you never mentioned that." Naruto keeps his gaze on his best friend, his left eyebrow raises expectantly.

Sasuke shrugs lazily, "Didn't think it was important."

Sakura looks up at him, a disappointed frown pulls at her mouth and Sasuke doesn't dare to let his eyes meet hers. No one says anything for a few minutes, another awkward silence claims the air and the tension feels heavy on their shoulders.

Suddenly, Ino clears her throat, tugging onto Sakura's hand, leading her towards the long lunch lines, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving." Sakura walks past Sasuke, her small shoulder brushes against his and their eyes meet for just a second.

He wants to reach out and hold her face in the warmth of his hands.

He wants to scream in her face and push her away because the way he's starting to feel is so foreign to him.

Naruto claps him on the back in a brotherly way, maybe just a _bit_ harder than usual and doesn't say anything. There's a smile on his face and for the first time, Sasuke doesn't know whether it's real or forced.

Haruno Sakura is changing everything and he hates it, he's scared of it.

The boys walk side by side, just as they've always done and Sasuke sighs deeply, "I don't."

Naruto looks at his best friend, furrowing his brow in confusion, "What..?" He's scratching the back of his neck nervously, "You don't...what?"

"Earlier, you asked me if I liked Sakura," Sasuke's voice is low and hesitant, "Well, I don't."

Naruto's tan face softens, he nods and breathes in Sasuke's words, "Good," A smile curls onto his mouth, flashing his white teeth, "C'mon, let's go eat."

Sasuke nods, shoving his fists into his pockets, listening as Naruto begins to ramble on like normal. His own words echo in his ears, over and over for the rest of the day and he wonders to himself if he's made a mistake.

 _tbc._

* * *

a/n: wow it's been a really long time since i've updated this fic. i treasure this story and it i got intimidated to write for it again. anyway, i'm back and ready to write (i made this chapter a little longer than 1000 words again) please enjoy and review! all your kind words are very motivating when i write :) if you like this story, check out my others. thanks again and enjoy!


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